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Many college students qualify for financial aid that goes above their cost of attendance. After their tuition and fees are paid, these students receive a refund for the extra funds. The refund can be disbursed by check, direct deposit, a campus-based prepaid card, and even cash at some schools. If a student lives in campus housing, the school may also take out lodging fees before issuing the refund.

The card can be used just like any other debit card, and there are “no fees charged to student or school.” This is convenient for students, but it also means the Department of Education will see exactly how each student uses the loan money. Some students may not feel comfortable having that information on display.

A secondary function of the card is offering financial advice to loan recipients to help control their spending. Students will receive text alerts for their transactions, and can set up controls to limit how their money is spent. All of this data will be available in real-time through the myStudentAid mobile app.

The prepaid card is designed to act like a bank account, which matches the needs of mobile-reliant Millennials. Students will have the option to issue checks from the app and speak with customer service in the event of an issue. There will not be any physical bank branches for students to visit, but card assistance may be available through the school’s financial aid department.

While the funds for the card will primarily come from student loans, the pre-solicitation notice mentions “other funds originated by participating schools.” The terms are unclear at this time, but that may include scholarships, grants, and even private loans coming from the school. Since Pell Grants are a form of Federal Student Aid, they may also qualify to fund the card. Thus, students may not need student loans to get a federally-backed financial aid prepaid card.

More details about the FSA prepaid card will be available after the pilot program.

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*Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer affiliate program. See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information, however all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on an offer you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your offer.

Advertiser Disclosure: LowCards.com is an independent, for-profit website. LowCards.com participates in a paid affiliate network and receives compensation from most of the credit card issuers whose offers appear on the site. This compensation helps support our website and enables us to write insightful articles to help you manage your credit card accounts. This compensation, as well as the likelihood of applicants’ credit approval and our own proprietary website guidelines, may impact how and where the cards appear on our site.

LowCards.com does not include all credit card companies or every available credit card offer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information, however credit card offers change frequently. After you click on an offer you will be directed to the credit card issuer’s secure web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your offer.